Research Questions:1. Are all the existing methods for estimating the obesity and overweight in school going children in India equally efficient? 2. How to derive more efficient obesity percentiles to determine obesity and overweight status in school-going children aged 7-12 years old?Objectives:1. To investigate and analyze the prevalence rate of obesity and overweight children in India, using the established standards. 2. To compare the efficiency among the tools with the expected levels in the Indian population. 3. To establish and demonstrate the higher efficiency of the proposed percentile chart.Study Design:A cross-sectional study using a completely randomized design.Settings:Government, private-aided, unaided, and central schools in the Thrissur district of Kerala.Participants:A total of 1500 boys and 1500 girls aged 7-12 years old.Results:BMI percentiles, waist circumference percentiles, and waist to height ratio are the ruling methodologies in establishing the obese and overweight relations in school-going children. Each one suffers from the disadvantage of not considering either one or more of the obesity contributing factors in human growth dynamics, the major being waist circumference and weight. A new methodology for mitigating this defect through considering BMI and waist circumference simultaneously for establishing still efficient percentiles to arrive at obesity and overweight status is detailed here. Age-wise centiles for obesity and overweight status separately for boys and girls aged 7-12 years old were established. Comparative efficiency of this methodology over BMI had shown that this could mitigate the inability of BMI to consider waist circumference. Also, this had the advantage of considering body weight in obesity analysis, which is the major handicap in waist to height ratio. An analysis using a population of 1500 boys and 1500 girls has yielded 3.6% obese and 6.2% overweight samples, which is well within the accepted range for Indian school-going children.Conclusion:The percentiles for school-going children based on age and sex were derived by comparing all other accepted standards used for measurement of obesity and overweight status. Hence, augmenting BMI and waist to height ratio is considered to be the most reliable method for establishing obesity percentiles among school-going children.

Reusable plastic buckets with perforations on the side walls could be used to substitute the conventional polyethylene bags in oyster mushroom cultivation, with no significant difference in yield. Losses due to slight increase in crop duration in buckets will be compensated with a lower rate of contamination. For a unit having a daily output of 100 kg, it was estimated that during 10 years of permanent cultivation following this technique, the cost of cultivation could be reduced to one-tenth and the environmental pollution reduced by at least 730 000 non-degradable polyethylene bags.

Wine was prepared from banana varieties (Grand Naine, Karpooravalli, Poovan, Yangambi (KM-5) and Palayankodan). Banana wine was stored in plain and amber coloured bottles under ambient conditions for three months. After one month of storage, pH and alcohol content showed an increasing trend whereas titratable acidity, total soluble solids, ascorbic acid, total phenols and microbial population showed a decreasing trend. Same trend continued even after two months of storage. At the end of storage period, the total soluble solids and alcohol content remained stable without showing any variation in their values as that of the previous month whereas pH showed an increasing trend. Titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, phenols and microbial population showed a decreasing trend. Colour retention was better in amber coloured bottles. Wine from the variety Poovan had the highest overall acceptability score throughout the storage period.

The prevalence of overweight/obesity among 6000 children at 7-12 years was monitored using the established methodologies. Prevalence rates obtained using percentiles were proximate to that using waist-to-height ratio (WHTR) 0.50 and were on par with the reported rates. The prevalence were worked out with WHTR values from 0.45 to 0.53 and compared with percentiles. The minimum per cent deviation of 5.4 was observed at WHTR of 0.48 (against 6.4% at WHTR 0.50) and further the deviation at this point was distributed near-uniformly (2.6% above and 2.8% below the WHTR), suggesting that this is the optimum cut-off point for children in this region. ROC analysis against percentiles has given a higher sensitivity of 0.630 at WHTR 0.48 in this region and area under ROC curve was 0.827 at WHTR 0.48.

Jam was standardised by incorporating tender coconut pulp at various levels with fruit pulp of pineapple, mango, grapes and papaya. On the basis of nutritional qualities, jam prepared with 25% TCP Tender coconut pulp and 75% pineapple pulp were found to be the best. Jam prepared with 25% TCP and 75% blended fruit pulp were organoleptically more acceptable. The highest gel strength was observed for jam prepared with 25% tender coconut pulp and 75 % blended fruit pulp. The maximum adhesiveness was in the jam prepared using 100% tender coconut pulp. Acidity, moisture, TSS and reducing sugar of the products slightly increased during storage. However, a decreasing trend was observed in the case of total sugar content during storage. The highest fat content was observed in jam prepared using 100% TCP. The mineral content gradually decreased with advancement of storage period.

Aims: To standardise ready to eat millet based nutri flakes and to evaluate nutritional and shelf life qualities. Study Design: Completely randomized design Methodology: In the present study 5 treatments along with one control with 3 replications were standardized. Finger millet flour was used as the major ingredient and used in varying proportions starting from 50 to 80% along with 10 – 50 % of tapioca flour and 10 per cent other ingredients The best treatment were selected through sensory evaluation The selected treatment were evaluated for nutritional and shelf life qualities. The observations were tabulated and analysed statistically as completely randomized design (CRD). Results: Among various treatments, highest scores of organoleptic qualities was observed for  finger millet based nutri flakes added with tapioca flour (T3-60% FM + 30% TF +10% other ingredients) and it was selected as the best treatment with mean score of 7.92 for overall acceptability. The prepared product was nutritionally superior and highly acceptable throughout the storage. Conclusion: Nutri flakes based on 60% finger millet flour (FM) along with 30% TF was found to be the best combination for the preparation of nutri flakes and secured the highest mean score of 7.92 for overall acceptability. These nutri flakes were nutritionally superior and were shelf stable for 3 months.

The state fruit of Kerala, jack, is a miraculous fruit due to its nutrient profile, health benefits and greater potential for value addition. It can be better utilised if consumer acceptable products are prepared from this fruit. The growing demand for "healthy food" is stimulating the innovation and development of new products nationally and internationally. Yogurt, a milk-based product, is a healthy food which offers high nutritional value with concentrated amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The added value of yogurt over milk lies in the presence of beneficial bacteria as well as certain bioactive components. The study was aimed at developing a low-fat yogurt. Hence in this study, yogurts were prepared by incorporating varying proportions of blanched jackfruit pulp (10%, 20%, and 30%) along with equal volumes of homogenized and skimmed milk. Both koozha and varikka variety of jackfruits were prepared. The jackfruit bulbs were steam blanched for five minutes and pulped to prepare the yogurt. Plain yogurt served as the control. The prepared yogurts were organoleptically evaluated using a 9 point hedonic scale with a panel of 15 judges. The selection of the best sample was done based on Kendall's coefficient of concordance. Among the fruit yogurts, the yogurt with 30% jackfruit pulp scored maximum for the sensory attributes. Chemical parameters like pH, moisture, fat, protein, crude fiber and a total ash content of the yogurts were determined.

Cocoa is regarded as a super food due to its high nutrient content and proven health benefits. Cocoa beans are rich in carbohydrate (31%), protein (11%), fat (54%), fibre (16%) and minerals. Cocoa is a good source of bioactive compounds too. The major bioactive components are polyphenols constituted of flavanoids and non flavanoids. The bioactive components with rich antioxidants and anti-inflammatory activities contribute to various health benefits. The flavonoid rich chocolates improve peripheral vascular function. The consumption of cocoa or chocolate are beneficial in inhibiting the complex molecular process leading to cancer. Flavanoids in cocoa increases insulin sensitivity by improving endothelial function and reducing oxidative stress. The cocoa flavonoids also penetrate and accumulate in the brain regions involved in learning and memory. The knowledge on bioactive compounds in cocoa and cocoa products suggests that they could be consumed as a part of wholesome, health promoting nutritional food.